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Marianne’s Moroccan Living Experience

Living in a foreign country is usually going to be different from living in the U.S., and especially different from living at Ohio University. My experience living in an apartment in Morocco was incredibly unique and a major juxtaposition to my previous life in OU’s dorms. In Morocco, I shared my apartment with five other girls. It was similar to dorm life in that we all had a roommate and a communal space, but it was different in pretty much every other way.

To begin with, the setup of apartments in Morocco was different than how apartments in the U.S. are arranged. There’s a much bigger emphasis on shared spaces, which resulted in our living room and kitchen being larger, while our bedrooms were small. All of the living rooms came furnished with ample couch and sitting space, which encouraged all of us to spend time in the living room rather than holing up in our rooms.

Hanging out on the roof

Without a doubt, the best feature of my apartment in Morocco was the access that I had to my building’s rooftop. From my rooftop, which was about eight stories high, I could see the entirety of the city I lived in. I didn’t even have to leave my apartment building in order to get a front-row seat to the beauty that the city had to offer. Going up on the roof became my favorite tranquil activity, and it inspired me to have some of my most profound and meaningful thoughts while abroad.